The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) just made applying for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under $150,000 easier with the introduction of an online portal where borrowers of PPP funds can directly apply for forgiveness without involving their bank lender.

This change is good news if you are a freelancer who leveraged a PPP loan for your business during the pandemic. The introduction of the new expedited PPP loan forgiveness portal, which is scheduled to go live on August 4, 2021, is expected to speed relief to the millions of small businesses that took out PPP loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One caveat to this proposed plan to expedite forgiveness on PPP loans under $150,000 is that lenders must opt into the program to allow the SBA to provide direct forgiveness to borrowers under their loan administration program.

The SBA’s strategy behind the new streamlined PPP loan forgiveness application portal is to simplify forgiveness for sole proprietors and small freelance businesses, so if you received a PPP loan during the pandemic, now is the time to check to see if your lender has opted into the program so you can take advantage of this expedited process.

If you have questions about the expedited PPP loan forgiveness portal or forgiveness of your PPP loan in general, you can call the SBA’s PPP customer service team at (877) 552-2692, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST.

Jonathan Medows is a New York City-based CPA who specializes in taxes and business issues for freelancers and self-employed individuals across the country. He provides tax, accounting, and business articles for freelancers on his website, http://www.cpaforfreelancers.com, which also features a free newsletter, blog and a comprehensive freelance tax guide.